Nghe An province is reviewing its needs to recruit teachers.

Many schools are requesting additional teachers.

Compared to the allocated staffing quota, our school is currently short 15 staff members.teacher"Therefore, we are proposing to add 15 people, including 10 cultural teachers, 3 English teachers, 1 physical education teacher, and 1 music teacher," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Lang, Principal of Duc Thanh Primary School in Binh Minh commune.

Previously, according to the quotas recently allocated by the Provincial People's Committee, Duc Thanh Primary School was assigned 43 teaching positions for the 2025-2026 school year. However, in reality, the school currently only has 28 teachers and is facing a severe teacher shortage.

The school principal also stated: The school has 29 classes, but this year there are only 31 teachers, including general education teachers and teachers for other subjects (of which 2 are seconded teachers), so the teacher-to-class ratio is only 1 teacher per class, a serious shortage compared to the regulation of 1.5 teachers per class for organizing two teaching sessions per day. Currently, to organize teaching, the school needs to contract an additional 7 teachers, but there is no budget to pay for them.

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Adding more teachers would make the teaching process easier, improve teacher allocation, and solve the financial problem. Furthermore, compared to contract teachers or seconded teachers, tenured teachers offer greater stability and long-term commitment to the school.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lang - Principal of Duc Thanh Primary School, Binh Minh Commune

Nghi Thu Primary School in Cua Lo Ward has also proposed recruiting 8 people, including 5 general education teachers, 1 English teacher, 1 physical education teacher, and 1 staff member. Among the 14 schools in Cua Lo Ward that proposed recruiting additional teachers, this school has the largest number of teachers and staff.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Anh, the school principal, said: "This is the first time the province has allocated staffing quotas to each school, and this is entirely appropriate to the reality. In fact, our school currently has 19 classes but only 28 teachers, lacking 8 teachers as per regulations. Therefore, the school hopes to receive additional staff soon to help resolve the long-standing teacher shortage. This school year, in addition to hiring several more teachers on contract, all teachers in the school are teaching extra classes beyond the regulations. Meanwhile, the staff are also taking on multiple roles, such as the administrative staff also handling medical duties, and the administrative staff also managing the library and equipment."

At the lower secondary level, teacher shortages are also common. At Quynh Phuong Secondary School in Quynh Mai commune, the school is currently short 7 teachers according to its allocated staffing quota. Therefore, in this recruitment drive, the school is proposing to hire 1 Literature teacher, 1 Music teacher, 1 Physical Education teacher, 1 Informatics teacher, 1 Mathematics teacher, 1 History teacher, 1 English teacher, and 1 Civic Education teacher.

During the discussion, Mr. Ho Tuan Anh, the school principal, stated: "Our school has 38 classes with nearly 1,800 students. If we calculate based on the ratio of 1.9 teachers per class, the school is currently short 19 teachers across various subjects. Therefore, given the limited quota, the school has considered requesting staffing for subjects that are severely lacking. For example, we have been short of History teachers for over 10 years, and we haven't received any replacements, while teachers in other subjects are having to teach additional subjects."

Considerations when hiring

Following the implementation of a two-tiered local government system, the Department of Education and Training was assigned by the Provincial People's Committee the task of deploying, seconding, rotating, and recruiting teachers at all educational levels.

Earlier this October, the Provincial People's Committee also issued Decision No. 3235/QD-UBND on allocating over 43,000 civil servant positions with salaries from the state budget to educational institutions under the People's Committees of communes and wards in 2025, based on maintaining the total number of positions allocated in 2025 and reallocating them according to the number of students in the 2025-2026 school year as prescribed and the number of existing employees of each unit.

Based on this number, the Department of Education and Training is currently developing a plan for recruiting teachers as directed by the Provincial People's Committee to promptly supplement the staffing for schools. During this process, this week, the Department issued a document requesting all educational institutions to review their staffing needs for 2025. Mr. Ho Tuan Anh, Principal of Quynh Phuong Secondary School, added: "I believe that the Department assigning each school to review and propose their needs is entirely appropriate and closely aligned with actual needs, avoiding localized shortages or surpluses in schools and ensuring more transparent and high-quality teacher recruitment."

In addition to reviewing and proposing teacher recruitment in schools, the Department is currently seeking feedback from educational institutions on recruiting the remaining staff positions for the year according to two options.

The proposed plan is being implemented in the context that in 2025, the central government will allocate 1,031 positions for all levels of education. However, in accordance with the policy of downsizing the workforce during the 2022-2026 period (according to Official Letter No. 988-CV/DU dated September 18, 2025, from the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee), the education sector will reduce its workforce by 1,025 people, expected to start from January 1, 2026. Therefore, while awaiting the competent authority's consideration of supplementing the workforce and ensuring sufficient salary funds after recruitment, the Department and its units will develop two proposed recruitment plans.